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Jo Behari - Hands On!

The days of having to rely on handymen in
overalls may become a thing of the past as more and more women pick up their
tools and assert themselves on the DIY front line.

I had imagined Home Jane CEO Jo Behari
as a beefy woman squeezed into a pair of unflattering dungarees. Instead,
I discovered a slim, intelligent and attractive woman in her late 20s.

“Were you expecting a flat cap and a 5 o clock shadow?” she
grins. “This is the new millennium”.

And right there I knew she had it nailed.
This was the new millennium and as
far as Jo Behari was concerned, that
meant casting off all preconceptions before we went any further.

Born into a family with two older
brothers, life was a very male dominated
environment and Jo found herself eager to emulate her brothers.

“Growing up was exciting. There was time
for dolls and wearing pretty dresses but I always wanted to do what my brothers
did so I was regularly skateboarding,
climbing trees and playing with train
sets. That foundation has given me a good mix for the person I am today.
I’m equally at home unwinding in the spa with my girlfriends as I am watching
the footy in the pub”.

But even with this disclosure, she admits
that there was no hint in her early years of school and college that Jo was
going to move into DIY as a career.

“I went to a school where there were lots
of very clever people, students who
would go on to become doctors, lawyers
and politicians and I constantly
felt out of my depth. I was convinced I would not achieve good enough grades so
I progressed through the entire first phase of my academic life completely
unsure of my future. I never felt encouraged by my teachers and believed I was just
wasting my time.

“Eventually I came to realize that I
wanted to run my own business. I had
no idea of how or what but as my dad has always run his own businesses and he
has been my biggest inspiration
throughout my life, I decided I was keen to follow in his footsteps.”

After sixth form, Jo followed her friends
on to University and despite what she classes as some “disappointing A Level results” she started studying Marketing & Psychology.

“I graduated (against all my earlier
expectations) but struggled at first to get a job. Through sheer luck, I managed
to land a position with one of the big marketing firms and totally convinced
myself that I was going to end up working in New York or Singapore on
some major commission”.

Within a few years Jo realized that she
was totally unfulfilled in her job,
which got her to thinking about what she really wanted to do with her life.

“It was about this time that I started
looking more seriously into the idea of running my own business. I was living alone during this period and finding it
difficult to get tradesmen in to do work for me. When I could get them to
arrive, I was often left feeling
vulnerable and intimidated by the experience, even though most of the time
I knew how to do what they were doing. The only thing that held me back was not
having the time”.

Jo noticed that there was a gap in the market and decided she would
be the one to plug it! Home Jane was
launched four and a half years ago and despite a rough ride through the worst
of the recession; the company has emerged stronger and ready to tackle the
challenges ahead.

“When you have negotiated one
of the worst financial periods of recent
times – I know we are still a way off being out of it yet but things are
slowly improving – and you are still standing, you’ve got to believe you can
move forward with confidence”.

How do other companies and
men in particular respond to the fact that she still remains a minority in a
very male dominated arena?

“I have never come up against
any significant opposition from the opposite sex. In fact, on the whole all the
tradesmen I’ve come into contact with have been very supportive. Ironically,
the only hurdle we had to face was from an
elderly woman who didn’t think women could do this type of work. I guess
her opposition had more to do with her generation and a different way of
thinking.

“One thing I am sure of is
that if I can do it other women can too,
if they want to. Gender roles are changing but there is still a way to go and
just how far depends on the profession in question. We are more accepting of
male nurses but female plumbers might take a little bit longer.

“The commercial sector
remains slow on the uptake and it is still rare
to have a woman on a major construction site, especially in a manual role.
It’s funny because in less developed countries women are a much more regular
feature on construction sites. In India
for instance, women have a strong presence on building sites, although they
wear Saris, which I’m not sure are
compliant with Health and Safety!”

Now happily married, Jo
pointed out that her husband was extremely
supportive of her business.

“During the really tough
times of the recession he helped me financially, which was a new experience for me. I was used to
working for everything – I’ve had a job of some kind since I was 15 – but he
was there to help me out and I will be eternally grateful for that
assistance.”

Does that mean he is happy to
let you do all the DIY in the house?

“I see being able to do my
own DIY as a life skill, much like
cooking or cleaning. If you live in a house it is important to understand how
it works so I believe all homeowners, male and female, should make themselves
familiar with their property.

“So in answer to your
question, whilst he might let me take the lead on many things, he is far from a novice and that’s the way I
like it.”

Home
Jane has a total team of
60 tradeswomen although Jo is not
averse to using men, especially since women in the industry are still a rare
commodity.

And as for the future…

“Relying on one income source
can be a dangerous thing so I have started to open my mind to other
opportunities. I was approached by a publisher last year to write a DIY book aimed at women, which is due
to hit the shelves this June.

“I have also just completed a
TV show to air on Channel 4 in the
spring called Make, Do and Mend,
focusing on ways to save money by doing things yourself. I am one of three
presenters and we each have our specialty. I’m also really looking forward to
opening The Good Life Centre which
will be our workshop venue and a really fun, friendly learning environment
focusing on learning hands on skills. On top of all these things Home Jane is growing geographically, we
now cover most of the Home Counties and are gradually working our way up the M1 corridor.”

So does Jo ever
manage to relax?

“I think it’s
important to have downtime and I like to relax in the evening with friends or
at home in front of the TV with my husband. I’ve also just started Bikram Yoga. I really enjoy going to
the cinema and this year I have
decided that I’m going to take dance classes.”